OXNARD : Dead Man May Have Been Slain
An Oxnard man who was found dead in the parking lot of an El Rio liquor store this week may have been slain, sheriff’s detectives said Friday.
Arthur Peralta, 48, died early Monday of injuries suffered after he struck his head on a parking lot curb, but he may have been punched by a patron of the store first, Ventura County Sheriff’s Detective Ray Bustillo said.
Several witnesses observed Peralta and another man arguing in the parking lot of El Rio Liquors, 2910 Vineyard Ave., at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, detectives said.
The other man, whose identity is still unknown, struck Peralta in theface and caused him to fall backward onto the edge of the curb, witnesses said.
The man then left the scene in a car with a woman, apparently unaware of Peralta’s fatal injury, Bustillo said.
Peralta was taken to Ventura County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 5:22 a.m. Monday.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department is asking anyone with information on the incident to call 654-2355.
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